2014 military SF, second in the Ark Royal series. The outdated and
over-armoured carrier Ark Royal did what the newer ships couldn't,
taking the war to the alien invaders and even capturing an enemy
starship. Now it's time for a larger raid into alien space.

I'm glad to say that the distracting infelicities of language are
largely gone from this second volume. As before, characterisation is
simple at best: this one is a recovered alcoholic, that one is
aristocratic, the other one is female. Yeah, I know, any sort of
mil-fic isn't here to tell me details of personality.

Pacing is the problem, though: the first half or more of the book is
mostly talk with the last third or so containing most of the action,
on a single steady escalation which makes the book feel shorter than
it is. There's a new viewpoint character to introduce; the previous
four are kept, though Admiral Sir Theodore Smith is now in overall
charge of the task force rather than just commanding one ship. His XO
has moved up to captain of the ship, and Kurt Schneier is now the
commander of the "Air Group" (though there doesn't seem to be an
overall commander of space fighters in the multinational force). Major
Charles Parnell of the Royal Marines has a much smaller role than
before, being stationed aboard an American assault transport and
participating in the planetary smash-and-grab raid. The new viewpoint
is that of Charles Augustus, a rookie fighter pilot with a
well-telegraphed secret. You'll know all there is to know about all of
them within a couple of paragraphs.

(All women are beautiful, or shrews. Everyone agrees that reporters
are evil, though no reporter appears on-stage this time.)

The aliens still refuse to talk to humans, which means the war has to
go on. They have however been smart: they've learned about their
vulnerabilities from the last engagement, and adapted human weapons
much as the humans have adapted their weapons (arming all their
fighters with the new plasma cannon, for example, even though they
have a tendency to overheat and blow up).

Once you get to the action, it's not bad. Not as much of it as in the
first book, but the flexible alien tactics make up for it; it doesn't
get samey. Pity it's such a long wait, and pity (given the title)
there's nothing Nelsonian about any of the fighting here.

Still, there's nothing really conclusive happening here, and there's a
certain sensation of middle-volume blahs. The first volume only
redeemed itself by its feeling of fun; this one's filling in time.